"I see no reason this has to drag on," Julin said. "I'm not satisfied. It seems to me they're further from an arrest rather than closer."

By state law, criminal case files must be opened to the public if there is no hope of an arrest or prosecution in the foreseeable future.

The much-publicized disappearance of Adam Walsh from a Sears store across the street from the Hollywood police station on July 27, 1981, led to a massive, yearslong investigation, but never an arrest. Adam's severed head was discovered in a canal near Vero Beach two weeks after his disappearance. His body was never found.

Adam's father, John Walsh, later became a national spokesman for missing children and is host of the TV show America's Most Wanted.

Since August 1994, the Adam Walsh case has been assigned to Detective Mark Smith of the department's cold case squad, and Cantor insisted important leads remain.

At the hearing before Judge Moe in June, Smith said he had "two or three" suspects, including one whose possible connection to the murder had arisen in the past six months.

Detective Smith still has "some extremely major issues" to deal with, Cantor said on Wednesday.

Cantor would not discuss those issues in open court, offering to disclose them to Moe behind closed doors. The closed hearing became unnecessary when Moe agreed to the Feb. 14 deadline, which Cantor said was based on how long it will take Detective Smith to pursue his leads.

At a news conference after Wednesday's hearing, Hollywood Police Chief Richard Witt denied his department is trying to stymie public scrutiny of the Adam Walsh investigation.

"At this time and for the last 14 years, the case has always been an open, active investigation with regular leads, giving us indications that this case can eventually be solved in an arrest," Witt said.

Witt wouldn't discuss potential suspects in the case, saying only that Smith needs until Feb. 14 to close all angles.

"We do anticipate there will be more things we will need to do, we must do, before any disclosure," Witt said. "We're working on that."

Moe called Feb. 16 "more or less a drop-dead date," indicating if there is not a grand jury considering the case or an indictment by then, the city must officially close its investigation.